A year of writing a little bit of everything. Writers Write, Right?

getting beat by a girl

My girls are taking swimming lessons this week. My oldest middle daughter just happens to be in a class where she is the only girl. On the second day of lessons, the class was split into two relay teams for races practicing their skills. Oldest Middle was the last to swim for her group and by the time she was tagged, her team was behind. The boys were all jumping up and down and screaming for their teammates to hustle it up. Meanwhile, Oldest Middle stood by patiently awaiting her turn.

She is a hard one to read sometimes, this oldest middle child, and when her turn finally came she jumped into the water and I stood by watching not knowing what to expect. Then I heard these words spoken by her competitor, “I’m not losing to a girl.” Well, that did it for me, I was no longer an innocent observer with no dog in this fight. I wanted her to take him out. (Yeah I know, not my finest hour, but I rooted quietly, inside my own brain, and in my own defense, I can be seriously competitive. Ok, so that’s not a defense…moving on…) By the time they hit the turn around point she had caught up with him and let’s just say the finish wasn’t even close. Victory was hers!

Now, before you get on my case for getting super excited about a little second grader losing, let me just say this, it was not about him losing even close to as much as it was about her winning. She is gifted in so many areas, but learning how and when to be appropriately aggressive is an area she has trouble navigating. I was super proud of her! I was also super proud of her for just hopping out of the water and gracefully moving on to the next activity like she had had the whole thing planned all along. She’s a rock star, my oldest middle, and not just on this day, but every day.

4 thoughts on “getting beat by a girl”

Love this story! It’s the natural Mama bear thing to react like you did – I would have too – especially under the circumstances. As always, we learn from our babies though, huh? They never cease to amaze us in the grace they can offer in even some of the more trying conditions. Good for her…and you!